The 1980s saw the emergence of rally cars in Europe. The Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 is featured on TV after its large victories at the expense of renowned brands and models, such as the Audi Quattro, Lancia S4, Ford RS, ...
It was then that Citroën managers also wanted to take advantage of the media enthusiasm that the WRC World Rally Championship represented at the time. Apartment with the PSA group just like Peugeot, the leaders of the PSA group are not in favor of this initiative of Citroën which must then fend for itself to find the funds and to be ready for the 1985 Rally B championship.
This is how the story of the BX 4TC begins, which Citroën is now seeking to erase from collective memory.
To be homologated in group B, the BX 4TC must comply with the regulations requiring the construction of 200 production vehicles. This “series 200” (production version) will be built by Heuliez, while the “Evolution” (racing version) will be built by Citroën's competition services in Trappes. If these cars are based on BX, the organs have taken from the group's bank, so the engine is that of the Peugeot 505 (designed by Simca-Chrysler belonging to PSA at the time), a 4-cylinder turbo of 2, 2 liters of 200 hp for the 200 series and another of 380 hp for the Evolution series, an SM gearbox made by Lotus (the only one of the group capable of supporting the power and torque of the engine), as well that various body parts borrowed from other cars, and this, to fit within the low budget and time allowed.
The car was then ready for the competition, the first bet held for Citroën. But the future is less lenient with this car. At the end of the season, she did not win any title and accumulated the abortions. Out of 15 races she has never been on the podium and her best performance remains sixth. She tried a final rally cross experience in 1989, which turned out to be little better.
What seemed to be a marketing promotion boon for Citroën turns out to be a sporting and commercial disaster, since the image of the brand and the model seems to be affected, the 200 series cars only find 86 buyers out of the 200 copies. for sale. This is how Citroën management decides to take measures to erase this fiasco. She decides purely and simply to remove all traces of this model by stealing first, buying back the models that have already been sold and destroying them with the unsold items and all under bailiff control.
We will remember above all from the story, that we should not embark on an adventure like that, and that a marketing operation should be studied well in advance in order to guarantee success. This also clearly shows us the importance of brands in protecting their brand image. Citroën could also have reacted differently in order to return its poor performance in success, at d6 one thinks it, as one also thinks that the big marks do not always take the good strategic choices.
Regarding this BX 4TC, there are about a little less than forty of the 200 series which, despite the fact that this model is one of the rarest of the brand, does not have such a high resale value. than that of the competitor of the time such as the 205 Turbo 16 which is now worth more than double.